Patchworks

Following the success of Patchwork of Flavours, Patchworks is proud to present to you our new publication, Patchwork of Reminiscences!

When time seems to pass by us so hastily, don’t we sometimes wish that a moment - just a moment would stop for us? As we age and our memory deteriorates, who, what and which stages or incidents of our lives will we remember?

As a student volunteer for the project ‘Patchwork of Reminiscences’, I choose to write. Using text to the best I could to share and record the valuable learning points and reflections of the different elders I meet.

It was in the midst of the famous Ya Kun Coffee aroma that the graceful and ever-amiable Aunty Anna shared with me her life experiences. Similiarly to most elders that I had spoken before, Aunty Anna holds faint memories of incidents dated when she was a young girl. She may not remember many faces or names, but she confided in me that there was a scent she would never forget.

The scent of opium - A small but significant part of her life story.

I remembered vividly, the expression on Aunty Anna when she accounted to me how she grew up with the scent of opium. It was only on good days where her father could afford opium, could she own temporary tranquility in her home - no quarrels, no abuse, just the sweetish pungent smell filling the compound. To her father back at that point of time, that scent was a sweet escape from the harsh reality of being a larbourer. To the little girl, the scent was assuring. It assured that it would be a peaceful night ahead for the family. Ironically, she also resented the fact that the burning of those black poppy seeds was the cause of the hardships on her family – earning never enough to feed the addiction of her father then.

The conflicting emotions associated with the scent of opium reflects a stage of Aunty Anna’s life– her days spent running around in kampong, her difficult but precious childhood days. It occurs to me strongly then, how uncannily scents can evoke not just past memories but also, emotions.

It also made me wonder.

As Singapore experienced the rise of the opium syndicate in the mid-19th century to late 20th century, how many other families were affected by the trading of opium? How many other children had the same childhood “scent” with our dearest Aunty Anna? Fortunately, the situation took on a bright turn as the government passed a bill to extend the death penalty to all cocaine, cannabis and opium traffickers on 30th November 1989. The younger generation like myself, would probably never experience real opium or the scent of it.

But as the society evolves and with emerging of new occupations etc, what were the scents that replaced the scent of opium?

Is there such a scent that could pull strings close to your heart?

It is the scent of opium for Aunty Anna.

It is the light scent of the rain for me.

What about you?

I have enjoyed listening to stories ever since I was young. These stories, especially those of the past that are foreign to me, never fail to pique my interest. I get blown away by how storytellers bring their stories to life – the sparkle in their eyes as they unravel their plots, their animated hand gestures, and undulating tones. They are nothing short of amazing.

The love for such tales has led me to Ayer Rajah Daycare Centre, where I had the privilege to listen to Madam Tan Kwee Eng’s life story. I basked in excitement and anticipation as I waited patiently for her to reveal the intrinsic details of her eventful life.

Many events and experiences Madam Tan shared with us, but there was one area in her life that particularly grabbed my attention: Her first job as a rubber tapper.


Rubber Tapping - Image from the National Archives


In the early 19th century, there was a shift in focus from agriculture to manufacturing in Malaya. Malaya became one of the biggest exporters of rubber in the world, producing other raw materials such as palm oil and tin as well. This is due to the surge in demand for raw materials, which is essential for manufacturing industries in the West (For example, the mass production of automobiles which requires rubber for rubber tires). Hence being in the rubber tapping profession, Madam Tan was part of this move to push the economy to greater heights.

Madam Tan remembered the days when she had to be awake at 4A.M and set off for work, while most people were still in bed. She braved through the pebbled roads, the darkness, and of course the possible dangers she may face, being a young girl, travelling alone. Imagine how horrifying it must have been for her! I cringe at the thought of ever having to experience this.

Upon reaching the rubber plantation, Madam Tan started working on the trees assigned to her. With deft hands and steady skills to boot, Madam Tan was one of the conscientious rubber tappers who collected a good amount of latex by the end of the day. She used a tapping knife, specially designed to excise thin layers of bark. Before the tapping knife was invented, a small hatchet was used to tap rubber. http://www.malaysiaflora.com/Articles/tabid/55/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/13/A-Brief-History-on-Rubber-Tapping-in-Malaysia.aspx

As Madam Tan dwelled deeper into the minute details of rubber tapping, it dawned upon me that rubber tapping is an art. It requires patience and concentration. If the rubber tapper shears the bark too deeply, the tree would be damaged. On the other hand, if sheared too lightly, the latex would not flow out of the tree. This serves as a gentle reminder for me that in life, there have to be a balance of everything. Too much or too little of something would not benefit one in the long run.

Having heard about the fascinating details of the art of rubber tapping, I am inspired to learn more about this profession. Being a city dweller all my life, sheepishly, I have to admit that what Madam Tan shared was rather to new to me. Indeed, I have much to learn about things and places that stretch beyond the parameters of city life.

This sharing session has certainly been an enjoyable and enriching experience for me, and I hope it would be for you too when you read more about it in the Patchwork of Reminiscences.

Cross-posted from Yesterday.sg on 26th July 2009.
http://yesterday.sg/2009/07/por-a-tale-of-rubber-tapping/

I’m Sean, a 24-year-old English Literature major from Nanyang Technological University. For “A Patchwork of Reminiscences”, I interviewed 77-year-old retired teacher, Mabel Chew.

I can vaguely remember a time when not everybody had a hand-phone. To me Singapore has always been an eminently safe country, safe to walk anywhere at all times of the day. My closest brush with war is watching Channel News Asia report on America’s Middle Eastern Campaign. Not so for Mabel.

Mabel was born in Singapore in the year 1932, and lived through the Japanese occupation as a child. She remembers vividly the night bombs fell on Singapore, the thundering sounds of buildings getting blown up. She recalls a time when girls shaved their heads and bound their chests in fear of getting raped by Japanese soldiers. She recalls the dismembered heads Japanese soldiers put on spikes to serve as warning, a time everyone in Singapore lived in constant fear.

During our four-hour conversation, I got to know Mabel very well, got to hear her whole life’s story. As Mabel narrates the life she’s led- as a teacher, a wife, mother and finally grandmother- she describes a Singapore unrecognisable from the one I know. I feel almost nostalgic for a past I never lived.

And that’s why her story is important, why all their stories are. Only in them can we discover and explore a time and place that is forever lost, that exists only in these stories.

Cross-posted from Yesterday.sg on 24th July 2009.
http://yesterday.sg/2009/07/patchworks-why-tales-from-old-people/

My grandmother called me on the phone every single day when I was a child, just to chat. But I was always impatient to get back to my computer game, and pressed the hang up button on the phone. When I released the button, she was still on the line, oblivious that I was not listening anymore.

Listening to her voice was a privilege that is taken away by time. The daily phone calls dwindled to just once every few days as she increasingly weakened with age. When she passed away, the calls stopped altogether. I could not get used to her lack of presence, so I pretended that she was still there in her Bukit Batok flat, except for the physical impossibility of meeting up.

This lack of appreciation on my part was a reminder that my grandmother, like all elderly people, was a human time capsule. Their unique experiences from tumultuous times in history made them knowledgeable, and also enriched them emotionally. What elderly people can tell us, in my opinion, are stories far more meaningful and memorable than the superficiality in this current age.

When I interviewed Mr Soh Yong Kee, a 73-year-old former secret society member, he too had anecdotes to share, stories that survived layers of memories piled through the decades.

His bare back bore scars of knife wounds sustained from past gang fights, and his right leg had also suffered from traumatic injuries due to the clashes. However, in his old age Mr Soh said he has since mellowed from the violent days of his youth.

Cross-posted from Yesterday.sg on 28th June 2009.
http://yesterday.sg/2009/06/lets-go-back-to-the-start/

I'm an international student studying at NTU Singapore, and I love spending my weekends walking around the city and soaking in the local culture. I love watching people go about their daily chores, it's a habit that's clued me into the Singaporean way of life and made me love the little quirks that make the islanders so unique!I'm always curious about people and their perceptions of Singapore. Like an adolescent with a growth spurt, it's taken a couple of decades for Singapore to transform itself from a teething, hiccupping infant to a sophisticated, wondrous city. The sky's the limit! But what of the Singapore that was? What about the yesterdays that we've swept under the carpet?My quest for the answers to these questions led me to participate in a heritage project by the Patchworks team which speaks to the elderly, chronicling their personal life experiences which reflect on Singapore's past and her growth through the years.

Cross-posted from Yesterday.sg on 18th June 2009.
http://yesterday.sg/2009/06/patchworks-a-hundred-years-of-memories/

Nothing is more valuable than time spent with my own grandparents. Watching their eyes glimmer with rekindled passion, I listen as they indulge in retelling their past experiences. But what struck me most was how these experiences are merely memories, and how they were unable to recall exact details, dates and time to give a full vivid picture of them. Unlike an old photograph that preserves every detail of that particular moment, our memory is subjected to the effects of time. We forget, our memory fail us. Nostalgia thus becomes important, because emotions are attached to these memories. There is a sentimental need for the past, and we relive those emotions through the act of retelling stories and experiences. Putting an emotion to these memories and then preserving them in stories therefore gives them a voice, a place in our society. We all thus have a part to play as individuals, like my grandparents in passing on experiences, memories and valuable lessons that are unique to every single voice of Singapore to preserve traces of nostalgia here.

An escape into an old love story even for a few hours is certainly worth making as we enter a different yet familiar world where the idea of love steers away from what the modern society makes it out to be. This is a story of two distinct individuals who never imagined they could end up as lovers, as soul mates. It is also a story that brings out their individuality, and what makes them unique as voices in society. It brings us back to the nostalgic and carefree pursuit of happiness, straying us away from the complexities of modern life.

There cannot be a better way to commemorate their 50th wedding anniversary this coming July. This story, celebrates their lives as two valuable individuals whose love will be made an inspiration to others, and especially their family.

Sarah Aini

Cross-posted from Yesterday.sg on 15th June 2009.
http://yesterday.sg/2009/06/patchworks-of-loving-memory/

The enormous success of the hit drama serial 小娘惹has sent many into a craze over the Peranakan culture. While I confess to be one of those who did not follow this drama serial with fervor, my interest in Peranakan culture stems from my grandmother’s keen practicing of its customs, which more often than not has let me savour various nonya kueh. Hence, together with another volunteer from Patchworks, I jumped at the opportunity to speak with Mr Peter Wee, a self-described ’story teller of the Peranakan culture’ within the heavily adorned walls of his establishment, the Katong Antique House, and find out, among others, the real meaning of the term ‘Peranakan’.

Amidst the intricate study of each painstaking weave of the kebaya and the feasting of the senses at each culinary demonstration (including a very delicious sambal udang), we at Patchworks also grabbed the chance to delve into the workings of the Peranakan Play. We volunteers also met up with GT Lye, an undisputed authority on the art of the Peranakan Play, and discovered the truth behind the role of the ‘impersonator’ on stage. We were lucky enough to receive a spontaneously crafted rendition of a Dondang Sayang, which would be transcripted and translated for the upcoming publication.

Come let us share with you these lesser-known aspects of the Peranakan Culture in ‘Patchwork of Reminiscences’.

Cross-posted from Yesterday.sg on 27th May 09.
http://yesterday.sg/2009/05/patchworks-an-impersonation/

The term “grandfather stories” can be used humourously to describe someone’s never ending narration of perhaps rather unentertaining, boring stories. It would sometimes begin with “Long before your time, in an ancient province in China…” which would no doubt begin an exodus of an audience as quickly as the Tan family in “Under One Roof” ( a 1994 hit TV Series in Singapore).


Or maybe not.


Patchworks- a special projects committee of the Welfare Services Club (WSC) of the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is working on a project entitled “Patchwork Of Reminiscences”.


“Patchwork Of Reminiscences” (POR) is a collection of original short stories from Singaporean seniors from all walks of life, culminating in the publication of the short stories book for public sales. It is a 100% student-initiated project (from concept to writing to production) that intends to preserve a chapter of our elders’ inspiring, personal life stories and capture the essence of playing a part and observing Singapore’s development as a nation.


Some of them will tell happy stories. Some of them will tell tearful stories. Some of them will strike a chord in your heart. Some of them will remind you of the more important things in life. All of them, indeed, are genuine accounts from real seniors living now in Singapore.


They are not sharing their stories to profit monetarily from it. Neither will Patchworks. Proceeds from the book sales will be donated to needy beneficiaries that support our society’s elderly. However, profit we all will, as we gather to appreciate their contributions to Singapore, their nostalgic accounts, and their words of reflective history.


“Patchwork Of Reminiscences” is proudly supported by Nanyang Technological University, and the National Heritage Board has been kind to assist us. Some of you may have heard of “Patchwork Of Flavours”- a 38-recipe book containing recipes again contributed by our seniors. “Patchwork Of Flavours” is available at selected Kopitiams and Books Kinokuniya.


In the following weeks, Patchworks’ writers will pen their thoughts, and give insight into their interviews with the seniors via blog entries here. Do look out for them! You may also visit our website and blog for more updates.

We hope you will support this meaningful project by purchasing a copy of the book when it is launched (4th quarter 2009, details will be released later)!


Patchworks warmly welcomes you to enjoy a blend of intricate and intimate stories, beholding true accounts of perseverance and endurance- a patchwork of reminiscences!

Cross-posted from Yesterday.sg on 18th May 09.

We are honoured to cooperate with the National Heritage Board's blog: Yesterday.sg in our publicity effort for the brand new project: Patchwork of Reminiscences.

Yesterday.sg is a full-fledged social portal media that engages readers in our heritage through blogging, discussion forum, Talkback, Internet television platform (Heritage TV). It is a Singapore's heritage, museums & nostalgia blog with world ranking No. 5 in terms of viewership. Anyone can share his thoughts and sentiments on just about any heritage, history, the arts or museum-related topic.

National Heritage Board is very interested and supportive of our community project - Patchwork of Reminiscences. They are helpful to publicise our project via this platform to raise the public awareness and stimulate interest even before we launch our books!

Blog entries about POR will be posted on Yesterday.sg from this week onwards.Do look out for these exciting blog entries and have a better idea of our meaningful project!

We will also cross-post the blog entries we have at yesterday.sg at our very own blog in appreciation of the regular followers of our blog!

Please continue to support Patchworks!

"Patchwork Of Reminiscences" is the working name of a new exciting project proposed by Patchworks. Its purpose is to compile a collection of true,  heart-warming and inspirational life experiences from the lives of elderly members of our society, publishing them into an easy-to-read short stories book.

The primary objective of the book is to bring the reader from the modern Singapore that we now live in to the pre-war, war-era and post-war Singapore that our grandparents and parents lived in. The process of compiling the book, "Patchwork Of Reminiscences" will allow student and seniors to interact in a lively way as students help the elders to recount their life journeys. Students can benefit from the experiences the seniors had during those challenging times. Meanwhile, seniors will have a platform to publish their life stories and reach out to a greater audience.

"Patchwork Of Reminiscences" is in line with Patchworks' belief that seniors can contribute to society in more creative manners than one. Written from the perspective of an ordinary citizen with an eventful life story, "Patchwork Of Reminiscences" seeks to capture accounts which would sadly be lost if no formal written record was ever made. Finally, the proceeds of the book sales will be channelled to the participating beneficiaries, providing a sustainable business venture for the seniors - a social entrepreneurship objective that Patchworks actively seeks to propagate.